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Recently, in Vancouver, a resident updates a Facebook site: “Latest commute to work: Military helicopter flying overhead, warship docked under the bridge, black SUVs with burly men inside racing past with sirens wailing, blocked roads. Ah, the Olympic spirit.”

Not everybody is excited about the Olympics. But you don't have to troll Facebook to gauge local sentiment toward the Games. A recent poll by the Mustel Group, aVancouver firm, found that about 250,000 residents from the greater Vancouver area are planning to flee the city for at least part of the Olympics. With road closings, estimated two-hour transit wait times and special spring breaks for many schools and colleges, the fact that some are departing as the rest of the world arrives shouldn't come as a surprise.

Some will retreat to the homes of friends and family, but what about the others? Here's where escapees are heading to watch the Games.

Study session

Cuba and Mexico

There's more than one way to say “party,” VANOC. Students at Simon Fraser University – who don't usually get a spring break – jumped with both flip-flopped feet at the chance to get away. Unlike the rest of the general population, these ambitious students started making their travel plans in October. “It was just madness,” says Melissa Dale, manager of the SFU branch of the student-focused travel agency Travel CUTS. And where are they going?

Ninety per cent of the bookings are to Mexico and Cuba.

Tops was Varadero, Cuba – maybe because of the price. Despite being on the opposite side of the continent, students paid $848 (including airfare) for a full week of raucous all-inclusivity. The price now is almost $1,200.

Their counterparts at the University of British Columbia favoured Oasis Cancun, the place MTV and MuchMusic pick most often for their spring-break specials. “It's a bit of a party hotel,” says Mark Beirnes, UBC Travel CUTS branch-sales manager. The price this week, taxes (and everything else) included: $1,160.

Sun for the family

Hawaii

“We have a place in Whistler, but we've decided to rent that out and take the family away,” says Graham Stanley, a former minor-league hockey player who is now a wealth manager at ScotiaMcLeod.

He's one of a wave of Vancouverites fleeing to the 50th state. Hawaii has been especially popular for the last two weeks in February, says Dean Horvath, principal at the Mason Horvath travel agency. The Fairmont and Four Seasons properties, the most familiar to Canadians, have topped his clients' lists, with the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea being the most popular. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai has seen reservations from the Vancouver area triple from the same time period in February, 2009. Don Renshaw of Renshaw Travel has seen the same trend. “Everyone's travelling to Hawaii,” he says.

Stanley and his family chose another familiar name, Intrawest, which runs two properties in Hawaii. “We have very young children: 7,5 and 3. Imagine getting three kids and bundling them up into their ski outfits, then they wet their diapers. … That doesn't sound like a really relaxing time, does it?”

Instead, along with friends and clients, the Stanleys have opted for sand. “I'm going to take the kids surfing on Charley Young Beach. I'm going to take them to do some biking with Maui Cycles, some hiking, and we're going to rent kayaks and go to Turtle Bay,” he says.

Hawaii offers the bonus of time: Because it's two hours behind Vancouver, Stanley plans to get a little before- or after-hours work in.

Who needs Whistler?

Jasper, Alta.

Though there's an increasing number of “new mountains” east of Vancouver (including Hemlock Valley near Harrison and Revelstoke Mountain Resort), Jasper – with its hot springs, proximity to Banff and Lake Louise, and direct train route from Vancouver – is the best bet for those who would like to ski at home, but can't.

Whistler refusés seem to have noticed: Vancouver-identified bookings for the period have risen eightfold from last year.

Hoteliers are offering cunningly timed deals: Fairmont's Ski for Free package coincides with the Olympics, with two-, three- and four-night stays with one, two, and three days, respectively, of free skiing and lift tickets at Marmot Basin (which has a new high-speed quad chair). Expecting it to be popular, they've put a one-night non-refundable deposit on the deal, with a minimum two-night stay at $229 a room, based on double occupancy. There's also a $99 credit for various sports such as snowboarding, dogsledding and cross-country skiing; or for cozier activities, such as spa treatments, room service or movies. Worried about the drive? You can arrange pickup and drop-off at the train station.

(Very) close to home

Victoria

For those who can't bear to tear themselves away from British Columbia's supernatural beauty, Tourism Victoria has been deluging the Vancouver market. “We've had some hoteliers calling saying their phones have started to ring,” says Rob Gialloreto, who heads the agency.

Helijet, the high-end helicopter alternative to the ferries (starting at $149 each way), reports “a lot more inquiries,” says marketing director Jay Minter, and has expanded its schedule to accommodate them.

With B.C. Ferries adding two more sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay (for a total of at least nine a day), and additional journeys between Horseshoe and Departure bays, there's not expected to be too much of a backup.

The Inn at Laurel Point, the Empress and other usual suspects are all expecting a rush of last-minute exodus bookings and are offering a range of specials for the occasion. “Victoria is nothing new,” Gialloreto says. “We think we just have to nudge people.” And in case further nudging is needed, he helpfully points out that while February is one of the rainiest months in Vancouver, the weather is lovely across the Strait of Georgia. “I played golf last Saturday,” he says.

Year of the Tiger

China

Remember Melissa Dale at SFU's Travel CUTS? The other 10 per cent of her bookings were to China for Chinese New Year, which begins Feb. 14. With Vancouver's sizable Asian population (the suburb of Richmond has a population that is 43.6 per cent of Chinese origin, for instance, according to the last census), westward flights have been some of the hottest tickets in town.

Ellson Lee, a business and marketing student at Capilano University, is going home to Beijing for Chinese New Year for the first time since he moved to Vancouver five years ago. “School's going to be closed, and I want to get away from the Olympics,” he says. He has tacked on an extra side trip to Bangkok in order to flesh out the full two weeks.

According to Dale, Air Canada's non-stop flights to Beijing for Feb. 12 to 28 sold out in November. Let the travel games begin.

Special to The Globe and Mail